Monday, April 1, 2013

All good things must come to an end - with Linda Eggleton

Hi everyone & welcome to my April 2crafty blogpost....it is going to be a fairly long post, so grab yourself a cuppa & get comfy :)

I have 3 projects to share with you today.....and none of them are layouts.

I thought I'd do something a bit different for my farewell post - yep, sadly, this will be my last post as a DT member of 2crafty :(

First up are 3 canvases.....which were soooo much fun to do!!

"Home is where your {heart} is"

There's a total of 10 different 2crafty pieces on the 3 canvases. I tried to create a little scene using 2crafty pieces that suited the "Home" theme....and I'm really happy with how they have turned out!

I will now show each canvas individually, for a better view.....starting with the centre one, which was the one I started first as I was originally only going to do the one canvas...but then I couldn't stop at one, so decided to create 2 more for either side....

As you can see, I've added a lot of texture to the canvas background, but as this post is a little bit long already, I won't go into detail on how I achieved the different textures (I will ,however, try to put them up on my own blog in the near future).

Here are some close up shots & some detail on the techniques applied to the chipboard pieces.....

I had previously cut the 11" Viney Frame & used on a project last month...as it's a square frame, there are 3 more pieces I'll get from the frame. I've given this piece the usual coat of gesso, then added some texture paste & then coloured....any guesses on how I added the colour??? lol

Yep, my favourite way of adding colour to my chipboard....painted in glimmermist! This one was TA "slate" glimmermist that I watered down slightly

And again, the same techniques for the Ornate Window Frame. I then added a piece of brick patterned paper under the window frame to help it stand out a bit better so that it didn't blend in with the background.

I had a heap of fun working with the Old Fence - First I coated in gesso and the usual adding of texture paste....then while it was all still wet, using the prongs of a fork, I ran the prongs down each little fence post in a squiggly fashion, to not only add texture, but to try to make the posts look like authentic wood.

I kept the Letter Box texture free...so that there wasn't too much texture happening.

So it is simply coated in gesso & then painted with a few different colours of my beloved GM's.

I wanted to get the same authentic timber look for the trunk of the Swirly Leaf Tree, so it was done exactly the same way as the fence post on the canvas above. The smaller branches & leaves were coated in gesso then texture paste added with a dabbing motion using my brush & then painted in the usual GM.

I just LOVE how that tree trunk came out!!! It seems to give the tree so much character :)

Next up....the Grass Clump has the same standard texture treatment as above, & the ATC Birdhouse is simply gesso'd then painted in GM (no texture paste)

So, there you have my set of 3 canvases.....are you still with me?? lol

Ok....2nd project....

It might look like a layout...but remember I said none of my projects this post are layouts?! This is an altered photo album....one of those cheap ones you get from the cheapo stores.

I got this one from The Reject Shop & it was solid black in colour before I started altering it ....

All four pieces on the album have been coated in gesso then texture paste added. The leaves were coloured by painting on GM & all the white pieces had some Frosted Lace Stickles added for a bit of sparkle.

I don't know if I could duplicate how this turned out....I kept trying different colours & techniques until I like it. From memory, it was a coat of gesso....then acrylic paint (in a different colour that I ended up not liking)...so then I painted it in the bright pink acrylic paint...but it looked kind of flat & not quite right. So then I added a few swipes of GM with my brush, & because the paint wasn't dry properly, this is the effect it gave....which I rather like!

I'm thinking I'll use the little handbag for some kind of storage....perhaps for storing my journaling pens :)

Ok lovely peeps, that's all from me....if you're still with me,

I know this has been a really long post, so I thank you for sticking with me!

Before I say my goodbyes...I'd like to firstly thank Vanessa for choosing me 9 months ago to be on this fantastic team...it has been nothing but fun & a pleasure to create with your amazing product...and I thank you for having the faith in my work & for "giving me a go" :) xx

Secondly, a huge thanks to Di for being such a fab co-ordinator of the DT, and for always being so encouraging with everyone's work....and also to the rest of the DT as well - it has been fabulous working with you all & getting to know you along the way on this incredible journey :) xx

So, with that all said and done.... Hasta la vista my friends :)
Take care.... xxx

Talk about leaving the best 'til last....those canvases are just stunning, especially the 'wood' treatment...not to mention the other altered pieces. Incredibly beautiful work, but MORE than always...if that's possible!!!! I think you will be missed:):)

Absolutely gorgeous projects Linda. Your canvases are just stunning. Love the backgrounds and the colours and the textures and ... everything! The album cover and the little handbag are fabulous too. I'm off to check out your blog for some more inspiration. Thank you. ox Marg

OMG Linda, so much FABULOSITY here. I don't know where to start. Such incredible use of all those 2 Crafty chippies & I just adore all those beautiful backgrounds too. Love love love everything about all of these. Great post. Cheers Di xo

Holy smokes Linda! you're leaving with fireworks lighting up the sky and spectacular projects!! This is all so incredibly inspirational - STUNNING! Had to giggle when reading about the fork, have to keep that in mind :))Big big bang!! *clapping hands* much love, E

What a fantastic job you have done Linda! MY goodness - those 3 canvases are the bomb dot com!! I hope you have a big stash of chipboard ammassed as your work looks fantastic with it and you will surely miss it...